O.U.R. Rescue Highlight
Operation Underground Railroad, or O.U.R., is a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization that rescues children all over the world from the bondage of slavery. Many of these children either work as forced laborers or are forced into sex slavery. Most people in America today believe that slavery has been eradicated, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Based on statistics from UNICEF and from Shared Hope, about 73 million children under the age of twelve are forced laborers and about 2 million children are sex slaves [1][2]. The International Labour Organization claims there are 40.3 million people living as slaves today [3]. That’s more than triple the number enslaved during the Transatlantic slave trade. It is also the fastest growing form of international crime [4]. When looking at the human trafficking numbers, a UN study suggests that 80% of those trafficked are for the purposes of sexual exploitation. The most chilling fact is that the most common destination for these victims is the United States [5]. Between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year [6].
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These numbers are staggering and proves that, for the most part, we are living in a fantasy world. We are blind to the suffering of people and it makes us powerless to do anything about it. I'm grateful for Tim Ballard and his team for exposing this injustice and finding a way to free people from bondage. However, now that we know the truth, we must make a decision: Will we deny the truth and let our neighbors suffer or will we do our part to eradicate the injustice?
Here's how O.U.R. Rescue works. First, O.U.R. works to locate the child sex slaves and connects with local law enforcement. Typically, they would find out that a child is missing from family members and investigate where local law enforcement cannot. They also pose as buyers and infiltrate these criminal organizations. This is where their skilled rescue teams, made up of former US Navy SEALs, CIA agents, law enforcement officers, medical personnel and military veterans, are necessary. But the most important aspect of these operations is their relationships with local law enforcement and their governments. Without that, they would be powerless to act.
Not only do they do a fantastic job locating and extracting enslaved children, the next step is to take them to safe havens for rehabilitation. These children go through trauma like we couldn't believe. Some are sold into slavery by their own parents, never to see them again. Others were left orphaned by natural disasters and scooped up by bad actors. Then, they are groomed and forced to perform sex acts; not to mention any drug addictions they may have picked up. These people need a lot of help and that's where their rehab centers take over. They try to work with local communities to provide aftercare for these children where they will receive vocational training and provided with livable incomes, educated, and given a support system to strengthen their families. There are aftercare operations in 16 countries and as of August of 2020, they have rescued 4,000 people.
Next, they work to break the cycle of slavery by finding evidence and criminally prosecuting the ringleaders of these criminal organizations. In 2019, they arrested over 1,740 individuals in over 840 operations. O.U.R. has found a way to be efficient at a job that is almost impossible to perform. O.U.R. is not tied to any government agency, which gives them the ability to be agile in their planning and extracting operations, but it means they need donations from Abolitionists like you to keep up the fight. I have included the link to their website below. If this cause speaks to you, don't hesitate to become an Abolitionist. They recently had a RiseUp campaign on July 29th across the globe. They wish to have demonstrations to raise awareness to the issue of modern-day slavery and to help engage local law enforcement to this crime. I hope you will help in this noble cause. If you give, give joyfully.
Operation Underground Railroad (ourrescue.org)
1. UNICEF. Children out of sight, out of mind, out of reach. http://www.unicef.org/ sowc06/press/release.php. Accessed March 6, 2015.
2. The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking 2009 http://sharedhope.org/ wp-contentuploads/2012/09/SHI_National_Report_on_DMST_2009.pdf.
3. “Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage. 2017” International Labour Organization. Accessed February 6, 2019, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_575479.pdf
4. "Yes, Human Trafficking Ranks No. 3 in World Crime." PolitiFact. Accessed February 6, 2019, https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/26/amy-klobuchar/yes-human-trafficking-ranks-3-world-crime.
5. Kangaspunta, Kristiina. "Mapping the Inhuman Trade: Preliminary Findings of the Database on Trafficking in Human Beings." United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Accessed February 6, 2019, https://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/forum/forum3_note1.pdf
6. "Trafficking in Persons Report. June 2005" United States Department. Accessed February 6, 2019, https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/47255.pdf